


Once Upon A Dream (2020 Dubstep Remix)

by MoonyExMachina



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Cursed Artefact, F/F, Fairy Tale Curses, Fairy Tale Logic, I hope you brought your bingo cards, Made-up Historical Characters, cause I brought all the chlichés
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24697216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonyExMachina/pseuds/MoonyExMachina
Summary: All Nadine wanted was one job without the threat of being shot at or crashing their car during a daring escape (while being shot at) or barreling of a cliff (while still being shot at).She gets her wish.And then she doesn't, because when has life ever been that easy?
Relationships: Chloe Frazer/Nadine Ross
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	Once Upon A Dream (2020 Dubstep Remix)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at a full length story in English so any and all criticism is appreciated. I had noone to proofread it, so I probably messed up the tenses a lot, among other things ... Also all the mentioned historic figures are made up, because I was more focused on keeping the momentum of writing going than on doing my research, if I got something painfully wrong, I am sorry for that. Please tell me and I'll fix it asap.

The whole gig went off without a hitch.  
Wouldn’t that just be a fun little twist to their current adventure. Or any of their adventures, really.  
One outing without high speed car chases, close quarters gun fights or ridiculously elaborate death traps.  
All of which were, of course, integral parts of the treasure hunting experience and as well as an integral part of its appeal, if Chloe was to be believed.  
And for the most part Nadine tended to agree with her.  
Yet she wouldn’t have minded a job without complications. Just this once.  
You’d think at this point she would have learnt that the rest of the universe didn’t particularly care what she wanted. A shame, that.  
“Come on Frazer, you can wake up now, “she muttered softly. “You don’t need any more beauty sleep, trust me”  
But Chloe didn’t stir. Her head resting in Nadine’s lap, she remained dead to the world.  
With a heavy sigh the other woman resigned herself to continue waiting.

-

“A golden spindle? So we’re chasing fairy tales now?”  
“It does sound rather fantastic, doesn’t it? But as far as tall tales go, this one happens to be quite well documented. At least compared to a lot of other leads we’ve followed.”  
Depositing her Laptop on the kitchen table, Chloe continued to relay the details of what might become their next job to her partner.  
“We have two letters, the first signed by Manuel Hoffman and addressed to Jakob Rosenthal, containing instructions for the creation of said spindle as well as the promise of remarkable payment, the second one by Rosenthal, informing Hoffman that the work was finished and he was welcome to come by and pick it up and bring the money, while he was at it. Seeing as they remained in contact, as proven by later letters, although those aren’t really of interest to us, it’s safe to say that Rosenthal has indeed made that spindle and made it well, rather than lured Hoffman into a secluded ally, clubbed him over the head and made off with the money.”  
At that Nadine, who up until now had been busy doing the dishes, gave a light snort and went to join her partner at the table. “I’ve never heard of either of these guys, so why do we have their letters? And what would anyone want with a golden spindle?”  
“Oh China, always so full of questions,” Chloe was beaming up at her, eager to provide her with answers. Or just to ramble on about whatever topic currently held her interest, not that Nadine minded. She was just as happy to listen as Chloe was to talk, no matter the topic.  
But at this moment, the topic was a potential job and so she pushed past the thoughts of how much she enjoyed listening to Chloe or of how bright her eyes shone when she spoke, and focused on the actual information being relayed to her.  
“Manuel Hoffman was a Frisian tradesman during the late eighteenth century to early nineteenth century, who made a not so small fortune by establishing new trade routes all the way to Austria and furthering the request for Indian goods, which were already quite popular in Freesia but hadn’t yet made it all the way inland.  
Jacob Rosenthal meanwhile was an Austrian jeweller, not exactly famous, but then neither was Hoffman, mostly known for his experimentation with unconventional designs, none of which ever became popular with the general public, if you want to describe his usual customers as such, even though we also have several mentions of people praising his talent. So he kept himself in business with commissions rather than with his original work, while still displaying a fondness for the unusual, which is what caused Hoffman to search him out in the first place.”  
At this point Chloe paused, adjusting the Laptop to give Nadine, who was leaning against the back of her chair, a better view of the screen displayed. As was usual for her, Chloe had enough tabs open to give her partner a headache just from looking at them.  
“And here is the lady we have to thank for all this knowledge.”  
The site showed the portrait of a faintly smiling woman with incredibly puffy sleeves and an equally imposing hairdo. Underneath the picture it read “Margarete von Braum”, followed by a short exposition on her life. Nadine’s eyes flickered to the title of the page.  
“Grimm’s Shadow – The women behind the book, “she read out loud. “Thought you said this wasn’t a fairy tale?”  
“Actually, I said it was well documented. And it is. See, Margarete here, like many more of the women in that exhibit, did more than preserve children’s stories for future generations. She also kept a meticulously detailed diary and preserved every letter she could get her hands on. Including some from her sister, Dorothea Hoffman née van Braum. You see where I’m going with this?”  
“Ja, Frazer, she knew about Hoffman, Rosenthal and their spindle and now so do we. Still doesn’t explain why he wanted that thing in the first place. Or where it is now, if it even still exists.”  
“I assure you it does and I have a good idea where it might be, too,” Chloe said, still grinning widely and obviously right in her element. She switched to a different tab, this one showing a map of the Dalmatian coast.  
“While Margarete was the one who ensured their preservation, her sister Dorothea was really the one with a love for fairy tales, collecting what she could and relaying them to her sister-“  
“So why does that exhibit only mention her sister?”  
Chloe shrugged, not minding the sudden interruption. “Don’t know, maybe because Margarete did the actual writing? Anyway, Dorothea was the true fable lover here and Manual Hoffman intended to marry her. However the von Braums were old nobility while Hoffman very much wasn’t and while marrying above or below your station wasn’t forbidden it was definitely still frowned upon. But as I mentioned before, Hoffman was crafty and had some money at his disposal, so he came up with the spindle as a gift for Dorothea. You know where that is from right?”  
It had been a while since Nadine had last read any fairy tale, never mind an European one, so while the concept of a golden spindle did sound vaguely familiar she could not remember here she had heard it before.  
“Uhm … Sleeping Beauty, maybe?” There had been something about a spindle in there, right?  
The way Chloe canted her head at this answer suggested she had missed her mark.  
“Well, no … that spindle was cursed, not golden. Or perhaps both? Either way, the story Hoffman was going for was actually Rumpelstiltskin. The one about the Millers daughter being forced to spin straw into gold so she could marry the king? Among other things of course, but I think that was the part Hoffman was trying to focus on. It was popular at the time, it referenced a marriage between two people of differing social classes and it allowed Hoffman to show off his wealth, something the van Braums lacked, despite their status. They didn’t have much to their name besides, well their name and some land near Zadar that turned out to be worthless, so a marriage between Dorothea and Manuel really benefited both sides. That’s also where the spindle is now, by the way. Near Zadar.”  
Having finished Chloe expectantly looked up at her partner.  
“I take it you also got that from a letter?” Nadine asked.  
“In a way. Hoffman had a mansion built there on a small island, a good bit away from the actual city. And before you ask, while I can’t guarantee that the spindle will be there, chances are good. The area is sparsely populated and most of those who learned about the spindle put it off as a myth.”  
“And you’ve got a good feeling about this, don’t you?” Nadine added bemusedly, earning her another bright grin.  
She paused to think for a moment.  
Their last job, stealing two Taiwanese statuettes from one private collector at the behest of another, had paid well enough, giving them some freedom in picking their next venture.  
Even if the spindle turned out to be long gone or had never existed in the first place, they could afford the small setback. And the climate along the Croatian coast had to be preferable to London’s foggy skies.  
More importantly, Chloe had a hunch. And Nadine, for reasons she herself couldn’t fathom (or perhaps just refused to acknowledge), trusted her partners judgement more than the voice of doubt in her head, stating that this trip would be nothing but a waste of time.  
Not that the latter was really an option, since any amount of time she got to spend with Chloe could never be considered a waste.  
“Alright, Zadar it is. When are we going?”  
Again Chloe switched to another tab on her Laptop, this one showing an almost completed reservation for two seats on a flight from London to Zadar on the very next day. Of course she had it all planned out already, probably not doubting for a second that she’d eventually be able to talk her partner into coming along even if Nadine had been more sceptical.  
She really needed to tell Chloe ‘No’ more often, she was becoming too predictable. Or maybe she had always been, at least to Chloe.  
“I guess I’ll start packing then” she exclaimed, shoving off the table with a huff and an eye roll, just for good measure, and heading deeper into the apartment to do just that.

-

Their plane boarded early the next morning, meaning it was up to Nadine to get her still half asleep partner out of bed and to the airport on time. As soon as they were seated Chloe nodded off again, her head on Nadine’s shoulder, leaving the other woman to wonder how Chloe had handled any ventures requiring her to get up before dawn prior to their partnership.  
Most likely she had just stayed up all night, trusting adrenaline and sheer stubbornness to make up for any lack of sleep, dickhead that she was.  
Or maybe she could rouse herself just fine when she had to and simply figured that with Nadine around she didn’t, trusting her partner to get them wherever they needed to be, packed and with time to spare.  
After all Chloe was a professional, she just wasn’t a morning person.  
Still, the thought of Chloe “It’s a control thing” Frazer trusting her enough to surrender any kind of control to her, even in such a simple manner, made Nadine oddly nervous.  
Next to her Chloe shifted in a futile attempt to find a more comfortable sleeping position before giving up with a huff.  
“Stop thinking so loud” she muttered, leaning into Nadine a little heavier and unknowingly causing the nervous flutter in her chest to grown tenfold, like a swarm of angry butterflies.  
In order to distract herself Nadine dug around her bag until she found the travel guide for Croatia she had purchased earlier, swiftly skipping to the chapter on local wildlife found along the coast.  
A fact Chloe would have wasted no time teasing her about, had she been conscious right then.  
As it was, Chloe remained asleep and Nadine settled in for an uneventful eight hour flight.

“We’re going to need a boat” Chloe stated, shielding he eyes against the bright midday sun while she observed the bustling harbour.  
Once she had fully woken up, about halfway through the flight, and fulfilled her daily quota of teasing Nadine by pointing out what an excellent pillow she made, they discussed how they would continue on from Zadar. Eventually they agreed to set out for Otok ruža, the isle once owned by the Hoffmans, as soon as possible rather than spending one night in Zadar and heading out the next day.  
Now enjoying the warm sunshine and the sound of small waves rolling against the shore, watching Chloe watch their surroundings with her usual curiosity, she wished they’d have chosen to wait until tomorrow instead, giving them time to explore the city. Hopefully there would still be time for that later.  
Renting a boat proofed not to be a problem and soon enough they were making their way south along the coastline, Nadine at the helm, while Chloe entertained herself with by leafing through the travel guide she had nicked from her partner.  
The sun was still high in the sky when Nadine spied an island on the horizon and as they drew nearer she could make out a tall building atop the cragged cliffs. Despite its crumbling walls and most of the windows missing the house held a strange aura of dignity rather than ruin.  
A small creek on the island western coast made a good spot for leaving the boat, with a steep path leading up the cliffs.  
“Not the worst place to live, huh?” Chloe said, as they approached the house. “Must have been really nice when there was still someone taking care of it.”  
“Ja, it’s peaceful” Nadine agreed.  
Aside from the old Mansion the island was fairly barren, the only other notable feature being some gnarly citrus trees surrounded by wildly growing rosebushes giving of a sweet heavy scent. The rest of the island was equally overgrown, waist high grass swaying gently in the light ocean breeze.  
A few terns were circling up ahead.  
“Maybe we should seize the whole island and settle down here instead of grabbing the treasure, what do you say, love?” Chloe asked with a wink.  
“I’d say it would take a lot of work to make this place liveable again” Nadine answered, not allowing herself to read too much into Chloe’s words. They were on a job and even if things had gone smoothly up until now it was not the time to get distracted by whether or not Chloe was serious when she suggested settling on a remote Croatian island together. Not that she could be serious, because “Chloe Frazer” and “settling down” did not fit in the same sentence. Right?  
Nadine shoved those thoughts away, focusing instead on at task at hand: “Look, even half the door is missing.”  
“Saves us from having to pick the lock. Or climbing through a window, really.”  
Slipping through the doorway Chloe returned to her previous idea. “So, more of a retirement plan then?”  
Nadine, who’d followed one step behind her partner, gave her an incredulous look. “You’d really want to live here?”  
The light streaming in through the broken windows was enough to illuminate the whole room.  
They were standing in a spacious foyer with cracked stone tiles and a high ceiling, three doorways leading to adjoining rooms and a staircase to the second floor. The only remaining furniture was a broken bureau half blocking the stairs.  
“Well, maybe not here as in this house,” Chloe amended. “But … the island is nice. Peaceful, right?”  
“Exactly” Nadine said. “You’d be bored within a week.”  
For a moment Chloe considered feigning offense at her partner’s statement, before discarding the notion just as fast. Nadine was right and they both knew it. Still.  
“Well, maybe I just want an island.”  
Not expecting all of the rooms to be this well-lit Nadine dug through her pack for their flashlights, one of which she handed to Chloe. “And if I promise to get you one, can we go back to looking for that spindle? Because right now we still have some daylight to make it easier.”  
“Deal” Chloe exclaimed, before swiftly heading to the doorway to the left. Deeming it as good a place to start as any Nadine followed her, daring to hope that, if nothing else, this one job would go over without any undue hardships.  
Of course, that was when things started going south. 

Searching the house was neither a difficult nor an especially time consuming task. While the building itself had withstood the onslaught of time comparatively well, all of the rooms were completely empty, except for a few pieces of ruined furniture, barely worth the effort of turning them into kindling for a fire. Something Nadine contemplated doing anyway, having spotted a fireplace in one of the rooms on the ground floor. They could get their gear from the boat and spend the night here, warm and dry.  
Next to her, Chloe was lost in thought. Of course this wasn’t the first time a story had turned out to be just that, a story. But that did not make it any less disappointing. And compared to some of the other legends she had chased in her life this one seemed like a safe bet.  
She’d stumbled across the spindle by mere coincidence, browsing through upcoming exhibitions out of boredom rather than actively pursuing information.  
Van Braum’s collection of letters had seemed like solid proof, while at the same not being very well known, thereby lowering the chance of someone else beating them to their goal. It wasn’t like the specific letters mentioning the spindle were that easily available either, Chloe had needed to find the man in possession of the original letters, one Albert Heinitz, professor of German philology at the Ludwigs-Maximilians-University in Munich. Upon contacting the professor under the guise of being a local journalist planning and exhaustive article for the upcoming exhibition, getting him to not only send her a digital copy of the letters but also any other information he might have to offer on the topic was a piece of cake. Apparently van Braum was a favourite topic of his and one he rarely got to talk about in length at that.  
Her musings were interrupted by the voice of her partner, calling from somewhere deeper within the house. ”Hey Frazer, come look at this!”  
She followed the sound to a room at the back of the house only accessible through what must have once been a kitchen and found Nadine kneeling before a small fireplace, carefully inspecting the floor.  
“Something is off about this. It’s way to clean to have ever been used, not even a single speck of soot here. And I doubt whoever cleared the house out bothered with deep cleaning the chimney, so…”  
Chloe stepped closer, noting that the fireplace was indeed spotless, neither the chimney nor the grate appearing as though they had seen so much as a match, never mind an actual fire. Struck by a sudden thought she headed over to the rooms single widow and leaned out, seizing up the exterior wall. Not only did it stretch on past the back wall of this room, there seemed to be another window as well, albeit covered by some rampantly growing rosebushes.  
Her suspicion confirmed she turned back to her partner. “There has to be another room behind this one, one we didn’t get into yet. I think you just found someone’s secret hiding place. Well done, China.”  
Nadine stood back up, dusting her legs off as she went. “So how do we get in then?”  
When Chloe didn’t immediately answer she looked over to find the other woman regarding her with an unreadable expression that made her breath catch in her throat.  
But then Chloe simply shot her a smile, bright with renewed hope and excitement at this find, and strode past her towards the chimney, leaving Nadine to feel confused and strangely flustered before eventually shaking herself out of it to watch her partner figure out a way into the hidden room.

It took only a few moments of prodding around inside the fireplace before a quiet click announced her success, followed by a small portion of the wall at the back slightly pressing inwards, revealing itself as a small hidden door, barely big enough to allow a young child or a crouching adult entry into the next room.  
When Chloe attempted to push it fully open the door refused to budge prompting her to, once again, turn to her partner.  
“A little help here, love?”  
With a nod Nadine took her place and, after a moment’s consideration, simply delivered a hefty kick directly to the middle of the door, causing it to inch open a little further. Taking a deep breath Nadine kicked the door again, this time hard enough to make it fly open and slam against something standing in the other room, provoking a loud rattling noise.  
Nadine cringed inwardly before she crouched down and stuck her head through the opening.  
The room was dimly lit, most of the remaining daylight blocked by the roses covering the windows.  
In here their smell, which had been subtle if pleasant outside, was strong enough to be nauseating.  
Both those facts hardly registered with Nadine, because unlike any other room in the house, this one wasn’t empty. Crammed in the fairly small space were two bookcases filled with books and ledgers in varying states of falling apart, as well two cabinets, one of which Nadine had accidentally assaulted with the door, and a writing desk plus chair in front of the overgrown window.  
Feeling the impatience radiating of Chloe behind her, Nadine quickly crawled into the hidden room, allowing her partner to do the same.  
“This does look a bit more promising,” she said, brandishing her flashlight to take her own look around the room, pausing when the bright beam hit the desk.  
A long wooden box stood on top of it held closed by a small lock.  
The two women exchanged a look. This had to be it.  
Striding towards the desk, Chloe withdrew her lock picks from her back pocket in one swift motion.  
The small lock proofed no match for her, opened in less than a minute.  
Lifting up the lid the beams of their flashlights revealed that indeed, this was it.  
A golden spindle wrapped in equally golden twine, glinting in the low light.  
Again their eyes met, shining with the rush of success.  
And then Chloe touched the spindle.

The second her fingers made contact she jerked back as though burned, blinking at her hand in surprise before her eyes rolled back and she abruptly lost consciousness.  
She would have hit the ground hard had it not been for Nadine moving to catch her without even thinking about it. Slowly she lowered the both of them to the ground, careful not to jostle her partners limp frame while simultaneously willing herself not to panic.  
She reached for the flashlight Chloe had dropped, which had thankfully survived the short fall, unlike Nadine’s own, and began to quickly check her partner over. Save for a couple of scrapes she must have gotten while searching the house Nadine could not detect any visible injuries, nothing to explain her friends current state.  
What the hell had just happened?  
Chloe wasn’t prone to random bouts of fainting and it was nowhere near hot or humid enough to provoke a collapse, especially not from Chloe. Nadine had seen her brace far worse conditions with a wink and a clever quip, had been right there with her after all.  
She wasn’t sick, was she?  
No, she would have told Nadine if something had been wrong. And even in the not-that-unlikely case that she had been too stubborn to admit that she wasn’t well, Nadine would have noticed eventually, seeing as they spend most of their time together these days, basically attached at the hip.  
So why had her partner collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut?  
She had touched the spindle. Was that it? Some kind of weird protective measure for the damned thing?  
But how would that even work? To Nadine’s knowledge there was no poison that could knock someone out this fast only via skin contact and if it was something airborne then why was she still fine?  
She took a deep breath to calm herself and her racing thoughts, but all it did was fill her mouth with the cloying smell of the roses blooming in the window.  
Stuck on an island covered in roses with her partner unconscious after touching a spindle, even with her mind occupied by worry for Chloe, the absurdity of this situation was evident.  
It sounded like the setup for a cheesy fairy tale.  
Nadine paused.  
No, it didn’t sound like the setup for a fairy tale, it sounded exactly like one and the one she had guessed as the source of the spindle in the first place. Which had turned out to be wrong.  
But still, Chloe and, according to her, the Drake brothers had stumbled across cursed treasure before. Nadine had always been a little sceptic when it came to those stories, yet she was always willing to give Chloe the benefit of the doubt.  
And right now “some kind of curse” was about as plausible as any other explanation she could think of.  
Which really didn’t help all that much, because Chloe was still out cold and even if it was a curse, Nadine had no idea how to fix it.  
All she could recall of the fairy tales solution was that it took about 100 years and maybe involved slaying a dragon, neither of which was helpful right now, unless the curse, if there truly was a curse, had somehow stopped time on this island and Croatian islands also happened to be the one of the very few places to house actual dragons. If the latter was the case, her travel guide must have skipped that part of local fauna.

In her arms Chloe was motionless except for the gentle rise and fall of her chest. During all the time they had spent together, Nadine had never seen her partner this still or this quiet.  
She was a fretful sleeper, always tossing and turning, and even worse when she was awake, climbing trees and buildings in her neighbourhood as easily and carefree as she would ancient ruins – both to the annoyance and amusement of her neighbours – playing on her phone, poking around the internet or prodding her partner for tidbits of information of any kind.  
Ill fit for the role of sleeping beauty, Nadine thought. Not the “beauty” part, obviously, Chloe had to be the most beautiful person Nadine had ever met – not a new thought, that one, just something she liked to keep stowed away at the back of her mind.  
But for Chloe to remain unmoving for more than a couple of minutes was just wrong.  
So how was Nadine going to fix this?

Unbidden a thought shoved its way to the front of her mind, a sudden memory of the cure-all-fix-all of every fairy tale, or at least their sugar-coated Disney versions.  
Wasn’t True Loves Kiss meant to break every curse?  
Nadine stiffened, immediately balking at the notion.  
No, curse or not, this wasn’t some child’s tale, this was reality and she couldn’t just kiss Chloe, especially not while the woman in question was unconscious and unable to stop her.  
But what if that was the solution to this mess, one simple kiss? Didn’t she owe it to Chloe to at least try?  
No, she argued back again, because there was nothing simple about this, about her feelings for Chloe.  
“This line of work isn’t for the risk-averse”, Chloe had once told her in the Western Ghats at the beginning of everything and since then done her best to get her partner to let go of her more calculating military approach to life, to relax a little, to be a bit more daring.  
But some things would simply never be worth the risk to Nadine and her partnership, her friendship with Chloe was at the top of that list. She could not remember a time where she had been as casually happy as she was just spending time with her partner.  
That was why she fought so hard against her feelings even when it had become impossible to ignore that they had far outgrown simple friendly affection, refusing to give them a chance to ruin their relationship.  
Of course, all of this would be moot if Chloe didn’t wake up again.  
Nadine swallowed thickly, feeling her throat close up.  
No, that was not an option. She wouldn’t allow it.

It was hard to tell exactly how much time had passed but by now the sun had fully gone down, replaced by a bright waxing moon, whose light stood even less of a chance at penetrating the rose covered window. Nadine, who had switched the flashlight of to conserve the battery, was left in near darkness with nothing but Chloe’s gentle breaths and her own raging thoughts.  
What was the worst that could happen?  
It might not work. Or it might and Chloe would be so disgusted with her that she’d never talk to Nadine again. That Nadine might just be able to live with, as longs as Chloe was alright.  
Or, that treacherous voice at the back of her head whispered, it would work and they would just be fine, go back to normal, no harm done.

Some of Chloe’s hair had escaped her ponytail, as it always seemed to. While Nadine brushed it away from her eyes with gentle fingers, she came to a decision.  
Before she could overthink it and lose her nerve, she leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her partner’s forehead, withdrawing just as quickly.  
Nothing happened.  
Releasing a breath she hadn’t known she was holding, Nadine gave a short laugh of embarrassment.  
Of course nothing happened, this was-  
And then Chloe stirred.  
Her eyelids fluttered, her breathing becoming a little deeper, before she finally opened her eyes and blinked up at Nadine owlishly, most likely unable to actually see her in the lightless room.  
“Nadine?” she murmured. When she didn’t receive an answer despite her partner being right there and definitely having heard her, she gingerly got to her knees, finding her flashlight in the process and immediately switching it on. Now able to see she found her partner right in front of her, a hand pressed over her mouth and her expression stuck somewhere between shock and wonder. There seemed to be tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. It made Chloe’s heart clench.  
“Nadine? Nadine, what’s wrong?”  
The woman in question just shook her head, fighting to regain her composure, while Chloe found herself helplessly torn between the urge to pull her friend into a comforting hug and the fear of making things worse somehow. What had happened?  
They had found this room, she’d picked the lock on the box holding the spindle, she had reached to touch it and then everything had turned black. Judging by the lack of light she had been out for a while. But how-?  
“I’m sorry,” Nadine’s voice broke through her musing, the slightest bit wobbly, continuing on before Chloe got the chance to assure her that there was nothing to be sorry about: “I just- I didn’t – You just passed out and-“  
She stopped, taking a breath and catching Chloe’s gaze, the shine of her honey brown eyes making her heart ache fiercely once more.  
“I was scared you weren’t going to wake up.”  
When she lowered her head Chloe shuffled a little closer, daring to place a light hand on her shoulder.  
“Come on now, China, takes a lot more than that to get rid of me, yeah?”  
The comment earned her a weak smile, allowing her to breathe a little easier.  
“Now what the hell happened?”  
The shoulder under her hand stiffened.  
“You touched that thing. And then you fell unconscious.”  
Even for Nadine’s standards this answer felt curt, but seeing how the latest turn of events had affected her Chloe supposed it was understandable. So instead of calling her partner out on it, she stood up and for the second time that day approached the writings desk, this time picking up the whole box and closing the lid, mindful of its content.  
“So, you think it’s poisoned?” she asked, then, with a wink, added: “Cursed maybe?”  
She had expected either a laugh or an eye roll for the latter comment, but instead all she got was a moment of intense silence followed by a weary: “Let’s just take the box and get out of here, ja? I’ve had enough of this place. “  
“Sure thing, China,” Chloe said, tucking the box under her arm and deciding to ascribe her friend’s sour mood to embarrassment over her emotional outburst mere moments ago, well aware of her dislike for appearing overly emotional. “Lead the way.”

-

Their way back to the boat was encased in silence. Chloe wasn’t looking forward to sleeping in the single cramped cabin, but Nadine seemed to have no intention of ever setting foot into Hoffman’s Mansion again – so much for seizing the whole island - and Chloe was not about to leave her partner on her own, not with the way she was still continuing to withdraw into herself, shoulders stiff and lips pulled into a frown.  
At first Chloe had figured she’d simply give her partner some space, at least until tomorrow, hoping that a good night’s sleep would help with whatever was bothering her.  
Then Nadine rolled out her sleeping bag on the other side of the cabin, putting as much distance between the two of them as the small space would allow.  
One year ago, before the tusk and that whole train wreck with Asav, she would have let it go without comment, would have pretended that everything was fine and done so happily if it meant avoiding a serious conversation, especially one that might have to involve feelings. Now, after partnering up with Nadine and coming to trust and treasure her, that option no longer felt viable. Funny how these things changed.

“Nadine, what’s going on?” She asked watching her friend pretend like setting up a sleeping bag was a task requiring undivided attention.  
“What do you mean?” She couldn’t even bring herself to meet Chloe’s eyes.  
“Something is bothering you, has been since-,” she paused, unsure how to continue. Since she’d passed out? Woken up again? “Talk to me China. Please”  
Now Nadine did look at her, eyes wide with something that couldn’t possibly be fear.  
For a moment Chloe thought she would not get anything else out of her, but then she lowered her head as if in resignation and, with a heavy sigh, said: “I’m sorry, Chloe.”  
Well, that didn’t clear anything up.  
“Sorry about what, love?”  
“About – back in that room, when you were- I didn’t – you weren’t waking up and-,“ Her friend was visibly struggling with what she wanted to say and Chloe found herself already moving towards her to reassure her again that she was fine, that there was nothing to be sorry about, when Nadine suddenly grit her teeth and lifted her head, meeting Chloe’s worried eyes with determination.  
“You just fell over, after you touched that thing and I didn’t know what happened, what could have caused it. And then I remembered what you told me about cursed treasure, how you and the Drakes had run into that before and with this whole mess constantly coming back to fairy tales I figured it might be that kind of curse and … and.. “Again she struggled, her sudden courage seeming to leave her for a second before she got hold of it again: “And then I kissed you. And you woke up.”  
Oh, Chloe thought.  
Well, that would explain her passing out. A sleeping curse, what a classic. Also kind of rude, really, even as a security measure. And- wait.  
“You kissed me?” Chloe croaked. She couldn’t say she minded, she just would have preferred to be awake for it. Not that Nadine seemed to be aware of that fact, judging by her pained expression.  
“I love you, Chloe,” she made it sound like a confession of guilt rather than love, which didn’t really make things easier for Chloe, seeing as she was the one struggling now.  
And then it clicked.  
Oh, Chloe thought again. Oh shit.  
The realisation must have shown on her face, because Nadine was opening her mouth, probably to say something stupid like “I understand if you never want to see me again” or, god forbid, to apologize again, so Chloe crossed the remaining space between them in one step, grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pulled her into a kiss, effectively shutting her up.  
To her credit Nadine caught on almost immediately, winding her arms around Chloe’s waist and pulling her even closer, tilting her head for a less awkward angle.  
When Chloe pulled back to gasp in a much needed breath, Nadine chased after her mouth, tangling a hand into her hair to keep her close. Chloe let out a soft whimper, followed by a growl of frustration, when she attempted to push Nadine against the cabin’s metal wall with the hand still holding onto her collar only to find the other woman immovable. She could feel Nadine’s smile against her lips and tugged a little harder.  
Just then the boat rocked a bit harder than usual, causing both of them to lose their footing. Nadine managed to catch herself with a hand against the wall, before Chloe crashed into her and send the both of them tumbling to the floor, their only somewhat cushioned by Nadine’s sleeping bag.  
After a beat Chloe let out a small giggle, that, as she spotted Nadine’s answering sile, quickly evolved into uncontrollable laughter.  
Once she was finished, Chloe grinned down at her partner before beginning to make herself comfortable right where she was, apparently standing by her assessment of Nadine as an excellent pillow. Sensing that her partner had no intentions of getting off her for the time being – and not minding this one bit – Nadine simply wrapped her arms around her, holding her close.  
“In case you couldn’t tell, China, I’m quite fond of you too,” Chloe muttered into her neck, earning her a low chuckle and a kiss to the top of her head.  
They would have to talk about this more eventually, but for now they were content to just lie there and bask in each other’s warmth.

And this is the end of our story.

**Author's Note:**

> I know it doesn't have to be perfect since I need practice to get better and the only way to get practice is to keep writing without worrying to much about perfecting it but uuugh ....


End file.
